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SMARTY cannot connect to 4G

Of course. Apologies Bubblesthefish.

They better get it fixed then as I thought there were Ofcom obligations. "all four MNOs have complied with their geographic voice coverage licence obligation" and assume MVNOs inherit the same. They would probably argue that if the phone is not supplied by them or not configured to be compatible with their network it is not their issue.

Presumably the others will still have GSM so does THREE have a problem?
I suppose, with them having no 2G network. But the majority of calls over the THREE network are VoLTE calls now regardless, with the 2021 having seen 54% of calls on 3G drop right down to 18% of all calls being made on 3G.
 
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Sony will be the next LG, and it'll be a shame because they make great phones, but because they're not Samsung the general public won't buy them.

In their eyes you get an iPhone or you get a Samsung.

I love my 5 ii, had it for 2 years and plan to keep for at least another year.


I suppose, with them having no 2G network. But the majority of calls over the THREE network are VoLTE calls now regardless, with the 2021 having seen 54% of calls on 3G drop right down to 18% of all calls being made on 3G.

Does VoLTE always need a configuaration to be set up? If three want to turn off their 3G network, how do they plan to get devices like my Sony working? I doubt they will be relying on 5G.

I don't really understand how three can support 4G on my Sony but not SMARTY.
 
I love my 5 ii, had it for 2 years and plan to keep for at least another year.

I got my grandfather a Sony something or other a few years back when Giffgaff were selling them of cheap, and it was a great phone for the price. Near enough stock android rather than the absolute mess of the Chinese brands is well worth the slight premium if you ask me.

My worry is that Sony won't be selling phones much longer as their sales just aren't that great. It isn't helped by the fact they announce their flagships then don't release them for 6 months!

I used to love my LGs and they had the same trouble that Sony is facing regarding sales. Hopefully Sony will stick it out and not just throw in the towel like LG did.
 
Does VoLTE always need a configuaration to be set up? If three want to turn off their 3G network, how do they plan to get devices like my Sony working? I doubt they will be relying on 5G.

I don't really understand how three can support 4G on my Sony but not SMARTY.
Yep, VoLTE needs a config to work. Three has to issue the config to whatever manufacturer they are adding support for, and the manufacturer then has to build the support into their firmware. This is how it works for smarty too, they clearly haven't given Sony a config for your device, hence no VoLTE. And no VoLTE means no 4G on a lot of the new masts.

Does the 4G work in any other areas? this will confirm my suspicions.
 
Yep, VoLTE needs a config to work. Three has to issue the config to whatever manufacturer they are adding support for, and the manufacturer then has to build the support into their firmware. This is how it works for smarty too, they clearly haven't given Sony a config for your device, hence no VoLTE. And no VoLTE means no 4G on a lot of the new masts.

Does the 4G work in any other areas? this will confirm my suspicions.

Does no VoLTE = no 4G?, they should allow 4G access even if the config for VoLTE hasn't been provided.

What are they going to do when they switch off 3G and someone wants to use a phone with no config that is a couple of years old and unlikely to receive any updates from the manufacturer?

I do very occasionally get 4G in some areas. A very rough estimate of what I'm seeing: 90% 3G, 5% 4G, 5% 5G. Probably more 5G than 4G actually.
 
Does no VoLTE = no 4G?, they should allow 4G access even if the config for VoLTE hasn't been provided.

What are they going to do when they switch off 3G and someone wants to use a phone with no config that is a couple of years old and unlikely to receive any updates from the manufacturer?

I do very occasionally get 4G in some areas. A very rough estimate of what I'm seeing: 90% 3G, 5% 4G, 5% 5G. Probably more 5G than 4G actually.
This is definitely down to VoLTE. Its mainly on the new masts (the ones with no 3G). So no VoLTE means no 4G... most of the time. And they don't allow 4G access in this case because 4G but no 3G means no calls so in terms of ofcom, they display no service and don't allow a connection. Something to do with 999 calls.

edit:: does VoLTE work on the Sony with the 3 SIM?
 
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Having had similar issues I'm giving up on my Smarty Sim...and Three, for phonecalls. We have new masts and I have a recent phone, Samsung S22 Ultra but at home, many calls do not get through. Will try 02 (despite their bad reputation) who have good coverage in my area and if the problem persists then Vodafone (who do not have 5G at all where I live yet). Failing that, a different phone I suppose! All of this tech sometimes trips up on itself!
Edit, 17th Dec.
02 turned out to be pretty useless via Lyca...(no Volte) and a weaker 3G signal than the "network checker" suggested. It seemed ok for data but I mostly use wifi anyway...
Vodafone up next!
 
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Yep, confirms my suspicions. 4G calling available and you can connect to 4G. No 4G calling, you can't connect to 4G.
Quick little update as I forgot to put this on ages ago. If smarty is going to work, it needs to be like this (both show as 4G, mine shows NR NSA for data as it's 5G)
Screenshot_20221217-103222.webp
 
FYI This does have your/a phone number on the screenshot
no it doesn't. That number is dead - it was the one assigned to me when I signed up to smarty which was then replaced with my Three PAC number which they haven't clearly updated on the SIM (it still calls out from my three number tho)
 
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no it doesn't. That number is dead - it was the one assigned to me when I signed up to smarty which was then replaced with my Three PAC number which they haven't clearly updated on the SIM (it still calls out from my three number tho)
You mean I just wasted half an hour of posting it on all the dodgy sites I know? :oops::mad:
 
Wee Man...I thought 4G needed VOLTE on the phone in order to make calls? Smarty does not yet support VOLTE though...is that right? Very weak signal too, so does it default back to 3G like mine did on Smarty? Best regards, a VIP ;-)
 
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